Mayor of Rio describes his four commandments for cities of the future

Mayor of Rio Eduardo Paes describes his four commandments for cities of the future at TED 2012

For Paes, the city of the future has to be environmentally friendly and socially integrated. It is concerned with mobility and uses technology to be more efficient and to promote social development

On February 29th, the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, was one of the speakers of the TED 2012’s session about cities. At the stage of the auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States, he was introduced as “a visionary mayor who has transformed the economy, made of Rio a greener, safer, more technologically advanced and more vibrant city”.

Firstly, the mayor emphasized how challenging was for Rio de Janeiro to be chosen the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games, as it has had to defeat Madrid, Tokyo and Chicago, which was supported by Barack Obama, “the world’s most powerful man”.

Paes emphasized that it is not necessary to be rich or powerful to get things done. “Cities are great challenges, but with original ways to get things done, with basic commandments, you can transform cities in great places to live”, said Paes. Then, he described his four commandments for a city of the future:

1) It has to be environmentally friendly,

2) It has to deal with mobility and integration of its people

3) It has to be socially integrated

4) It has to use technology to be present

As the greatest example of an original project that can transform people’s lives, the mayor Eduardo Paes described the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) system. Four exclusive lanes for articulated buses that can carry up to 160 passengers are being built. Users will board on acclimatised stations, where they will buy their tickets and connect with the train and underground systems. The BRT will allow Rio de Janeiro to increase the percentage of its population that uses high capacity public transportation from the current 18% to 63% in 2015.

Another key point of Paes’ presentation was regarding the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. For him, “favelas are not always a problem. Sometimes, they can be a solution”. In order to move “from a vicious circle to a virtuous circle, you got to go inside the favelas taking the basic services, mainly education and health, but with high quality”. He presented a few examples of that, such as the centre for technology inclusion and the 3D cinema that were built in the Complexo do Alemão.

The highlight of the mayor’s presentation, which lasted about 14 minutes, was the link in real time with Rio Operations Centre. Through the videoconference, the secretary of Urban Services and Conservation, Carlos Roberto Osório, demonstrated to the TED’s audience how the centre’s technology allows the City Hall to manage the whole city in full-time, including areas such as weather and traffic.

As a conclusion, the mayor said that “the city of the future really takes care of its citizens, it socially integrates its citizens, it can never let anyone out of this great party that the cities are”.